In March of 2020, the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) agency within the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS), in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, began allowing employers with telework policies to remotely review new employees’ identity and employment authorization documentation when completing the Form I-9.
Although the remote I-9 verification policy was set to expire on April 30, 2022, USCIS announced recently that it has extended the policy until October 31, 2022. As a result, employers that have elected to remotely inspect employee I-9 identity and employment verification documents may continue to do so at least until then. In the meantime, DHS is considering whether to make the remote I-9 verification policy permanent.
In another recent immigration-related development, USCIS has published a Temporary Final Rule that increases the automatic extension period for eligible nonimmigrant aliens who are trying to renew their Employment Authorization Documents (EAD), Form I-766. EADs are issued to certain nonimmigrant aliens, including but not limited to spouses of H-1B visa holders and Temporary Protected Status (TPS) beneficiaries, and authorize the individuals to whom they are issued to work in the United States for a specified period of time.
Members of the Center for Workplace Compliance (CWC) can read more here.